Racket golf

ABSTRACT

Racket Golf is a golf-style game intended for leisure and friendly competitive play used in common recreational areas such as backyards, parks, beaches, paved surfaces, and within large building spaces. It consists of a Racket Golf club designed to strike a plastic projectile toward a moveable target hole. The Racket Golf club may include string webbing similar in configuration to a tennis or badminton racket. The Racket Golf projectile consists of a ball and tee which in one embodiment are separate pieces and in another embodiment are attached to one another. The tee would serve to hold the striking surface of the projectile above the playing surface, and in the attached version, would also limit the projectile&#39;s flight after it had been struck. The target hole is ring-shaped that may include a raised ramp about its circumference. The target hole can be moved about during play to change the difficulty or to adjust the playing par. Alternatively, the target hole can be left in place, but approached from various starting positions to vary the playing course.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is related to and claims priority from prior provisional application Ser. No. 62/990,545, filed Mar. 17, 2020 which application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of recreational sports activities, particularly with regards to competitive and fun backyard and outdoor informal games based on golf, and more specifically relates to a golf game using a racket-style club and a projectile designed to eliminate the possibility of injuries or property damage.

2. Description of the Related Art

Adults and children enjoy the sport of golf, but due to the amount of required space, the specialized landscaping required, and the potential for human injuries and property damage, conventional golf is typically only played on designated golf courses. As such, many golf-training mechanisms and toys have been designed to allow golf-like activities in typical confined outdoor areas, such as backyards and parks. Toy golf clubs and soft balls can provide fun for small children, but do not significantly-mimic actual golf. Training aids, whereby adults can take short pitch shots into nets, or perform putting on small portable greens with holes can approximate certain aspects of actual golf, and are used to improve skills that are later used on real golf courses, but are difficult to use for friendly games of competition with opponents. As such, an improved set that can provide a reasonable facsimile for actual golf, with the ability to be safely utilized in confined areas such as gymnasiums and backyards is needed.

Various attempts have been made to solve problems with designing a realistic golf experience that can safely be utilized in confined areas. Among these are found in: U.S. Pub. No. U.S. Pat. No. 7.914,387B1 to Rocco Gugliotti, U.S. Pat. No. US20160059098A0 to Stephen K. Nassrah, and U.S. Pat. No. U.S. 3,856,313A to D. Tierney. This prior art is representative of simulated golf play sets.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known art, the present invention provides a novel Racket Golf Set. The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new way to play the game of golf in any open spaces, such as backyards, parks, beaches, paved surfaces, or within large indoor recreational spaces such as gymnasiums. A golf club which utilizes racket strings and a plastic projectile that is designed to fly a limited distance when struck, provides a novel solution to the extreme playing areas required for conventional golf. Additionally, the light plastic projectile does not present a threat of bodily injuries or property damage such as broken windows. The design of the Racket Golf projectile would comprise a typical spherical-shaped plastic ball that can be placed onto a separate tee prior to striking. Another embodiment of the Racket Ball invention may include an attached tee which serves two purposes: It holds the ball up from the surface so that it can be easily struck with a Racket Club without the club head contacting the playing surface, and, as with badminton birdies, it serves to limit the distance that the ball travels after being hit. The design of the Racket Club head is similar to that of a tennis or badminton racket. When attached to a shaft, the assembly utilizes string tension to deliver kinetic force from the user, through the racket club and to the ball surface, causing it to fly towards a target. The target hole is envisioned as a small hoop intended to be placed on various playing surfaces with ramped beveled edges. This design allows balls to roll into the target hole, and helps to prevent them from easily rolling out. The rim of the target hole may also include a cylindrical hole that allows an accessory flag stick to be inserted.

The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and method(s) of use for the present invention, Racket Golf, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 1 showing a perspective view illustrating the Racket Golf ball with a tee accessory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 showing a perspective view illustrating the Racket Golf projectile including a ball with attached tee according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 showing a perspective view illustrating the Racket Golf club according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 showing a perspective view illustrating the Racket Golf target according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 showing a perspective view illustrating a full Racket Golf set including its Racket Club, ball positioned on its tee, and a target hole, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 showing a perspective view illustrating the use of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 showing a perspective view illustrating the use of an embodiment of the present invention as it relates to playing Racket Golf over common backyard hazards.

The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to Racket Golf and more particularly to a recreational and competitive golf game that can be utilized in most open space outdoor areas, and within large indoor building structures.

Referring now to the drawings FIGS. 1-7, the present invention may comprise a golf club with a racket woven face, a golf ball with attached or detached tee, and a target hole in the general shape of a loop.

Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference there is shown in FIG. 1 a possible Racket Golf projectile configuration that includes a ball 1 and a detached tee 2. The design allows the ball and tee to be placed onto many common indoor and outdoor surfaces and holds the ball above the playing surface prior to striking it toward the target.

FIG. 2 shows a possible Racket Golf projectile configuration comprised of a ball 1 with a tee 3 designed to be attached to the ball. In this embodiment, the ball and tee are intended to be fixed together 4 before striking the projectile toward the target hole. The design allows the projectile to be placed onto many common indoor and outdoor surfaces and holds the ball above the playing surface prior to striking it toward the target. When connected, the tee further serves to limit the distance that the projectile can travel when struck. This embodiment allows detachment of the ball when desired.

A possible Racket Golf Club is illustrated in FIG. 3. It includes a typical golf shaft 5 connected to a racket head 6. The general oval shape of the head may be configured into various shapes. The head and shaft connection 7 may also include an adjustment screw to allow various face angles. This would allow the face to mimic typical golf club face angles from drivers to lob wedges.

FIG. 4 shows a possible Racket Golf target hole 8 which is intended to be portable and to be easily placed into various positions within the playing area while also being suitable for use on various playing surfaces. To assist with keeping struck balls 1 within the target, it includes a ramp feature around its circumference and an inner cylindrical pocket.

In FIG. 5 is shown the full Racket Golf set which includes a club 10, a projectile 4 in the teed up position, and a target hole 8.

A player 11 is illustrated using the Racket Golf set in FIG. 6. She prepares to strike the projectile 4 toward the target hole 8 using a racket club 10.

FIG. 7 shows another illustration of the Racket Golf set in use where the person 13 is playing over a common backyard obstacle 12. He strikes a detached ball projectile 1 off of the tee 2 using a racket club 10 toward the target hole 8.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. Upon reading this specification, it should be appreciated that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other kit contents or arrangements such as, for example, including more or less components, customized parts, different color combinations, parts may be sold separately, etc., may be sufficient. 

What is claimed is new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claim:
 1. A Racket Golf Set comprising: (a) a racket golf club (b) a racket golf projectile (a) a racket golf target hole
 2. The Racket Golf Set of claim 1, wherein the Racket Golf Club further comprises: (i) a racket frame in the general shape of an oval or other similar contours. (ii) a woven matrix of strings or fabric under tension fixed within the racket frame. (iii) a fixed or angular adjustment coupler attached to, or incorporated into the racket frame. (iiii) a golf shaft attached to the coupler
 3. The Racket Golf Set of claim 1, wherein the Racket Golf Projectile further comprises: (i) a spherical-shaped Racket Golf ball. (ii) a tee for holding the Racket Golf ball above the playing surface and designed to be placed on various indoor and outdoor playing surfaces. (iii) an embodiment of the Racket Golf Projectile in which the Racket Golf ball and Racket Golf tee are fixed together. (iiii) an embodiment of the Racket Golf Projectile in which the Racket Golf ball and Racket Golf tee are removeably attached.
 4. The Racket Golf Set of claim 1, wherein the a target hole further comprises: (i) a circular hoop which can easily be moved about the playing area. (ii) beveled ramp contours on the outer hoop surface to allow rolling balls to easily enter the target hole. (iii) cylindrical wall contours on the inner target hole surface so that balls that roll into the target hole are inhibited from rolling out. 